FAFSA and CSS PROFILE
It’s starting to get busy in the Financial Aid Office, with excited new students filling out the FAFSA and CSS PROFILE. This may be a stressful time for you and your parents, but the Financial Aid Office is here to help calm your nerves. The first thing you need to do is complete your FAFSA and CSS PROFILE. When you sit down with your parents to complete these two forms, make sure to have your 2012 taxes (or an estimate of your 2012 taxes) along with your 2012 W-2s.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool
When filing your 2013-2014 FASFA, you may be asked to update your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval tool. This is a great resource to use if you’ve already filed your 2012 taxes with the IRS. I definitely recommend logging back into your FAFSA to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool once your taxes have been submitted to the IRS. (Give about 3 weeks from the time you file electronically to be available). This is a very helpful tool if you are selected for verification from the federal government. (Look for a blog later on verification and what it means if your FAFSA is selected). Learn about the IRS Data Retrieval tool.

School Codes
I receive a lot of questions regarding entering school codes on these two forms. On the FAFSA, you can only submit 10 school codes at one time. TIP: If you have more than 10 schools, submit the FAFSA, log back in, and add the other schools. Speaking of school codes, the ones you use for the University of Rochester are:

CSS PROFILE: 2928FAFSA: 002894

We're here to help.
If you ever forget what the school codes are or where to find these two forms, visit How to Apply for Need-Based Financial Aid. If you are running into any problems submitting these two documents to us by the deadline, feel free to connect with your counselor. I want to stress that the Priority Review and Regular Decision deadline is February 15th for both the CSS PROFILE and the FAFSA.

If you have any questions while completing the FAFSA or CSS PROFILE, make sure you give our office a call! We are here to help you get through this stressful application time. Call us: (585) 275-3226 or (toll free) (800) 881-8234

Leave a comment

About The Author

I have been working in the financial aid world for about five years, with a year and a half at UR. I love the city of Rochester as well as the diversity that it offers. I’m originally from a small town in southern Illinois so I enjoy taking full advantage of Rochester’s many cultural festivals on and off campus.

My undergrad degree is in professional communications and my master’s degree is in education. I started working in financial aid while I was in college as a work program job. After college, I worked as an admission counselor and a softball coach, but I still felt drawn to the financial aid office. After working in the other offices at different colleges, I’ve grown to have a great love for higher education.

Some fun tidbits about me: I love watching all sports and cheering for my favorite teams. I love visiting new cities and trying the local cuisine. I enjoy spending time with my nieces and nephews and I thoroughly enjoy winning at board games!

Throughout this year I will be posting information about the financial aid process, tips, and just keeping you posted on what our office is up to! I hope to have you stop back as we travel through the year together!